The latest arguments in a long-running dispute over whether Shepherdsfield Church should be allowed to host weddings centered on whether its wedding venue near Sisters is separate from the nondenominational church run from the home of its pastor.

An attorney for the environmental group Central Oregon LandWatch argued before the Deschutes County Commission Monday that the county should not allow John Shepherd to host weddings on the 216 acres he owns because he applied for permission as an individual, and not in the church’s name. LandWatch has sought to stop the weddings for several years.

“LandWatch has been attacking us for five years,” Shepherd said. “Whatever step we’ve made, they’ve attacked on whatever grounds they can scramble up, and some are pretty scrambled.”

Shepherd has worked as a pastor since the 1970s, and he began holding church services from his home nearly 20 years ago. After the church hosted two weddings for church members several years ago, Shepherd decided to open his property to “bless” the public with an affordable wedding venue, he said.

Shepherdsfield charges about $2,500 for a wedding, which he said is far less than the $8,000 to $10,000 charged by comparable private venues. Shepherd officiates some weddings at the site, but couples can also bring someone else to officiate the wedding.

“I’m not some artful dodger who’s trying to call myself a church,” he said. “I’m a legitimate pastor with legitimate credentials.”

Carol Macbeth, a LandWatch staff attorney, said the county doesn’t need to be involved in the question of whether Shepherdsfield is allowed to function as a church. No local, state or national law keeps people from worshiping in their own homes or having other people join them in worship, she said.

However, she said the county could deny Shepherd’s application without threatening his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion because the Shepherds, not the church itself, hold weddings. If Shepherd profited from the weddings, that could also result in the church losing its 501(c)(3) status, she argued.

“It’s not Shepherdsfield Church that is holding the weddings,” Macbeth said. “It’s the family. There is a 501(c)(3) called Shepherdsfield Church, but they aren’t here.”

Macbeth further argued that Shepherd violated his farm management plan, a type of agreement between the county and people who live on land designated as high-value farmland that specifies the types of crops and livestock they’ll raise. Shepherd said he’s maintaining farm use by grazing between four and 10 heads of cattle each year and raising chickens for eggs.

The county will accept written testimony on the Shepherdsfield appeal until Monday. A decision is expected later this year.

— Reporter: 541-633-2160; jshumway@bendbulletin.com